102 Spring 2016 • Familyman: Dad 2 Dad
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
If you had asked them at the time,
“Why are you homeschooling?” they
would have responded with answers
like, “Because God told us to . . .” or,
“We didn’t like what they were being
taught . . .” or, “We didn’t like all the in-
fluences they were surrounded by,” and
on and on the list would go.
By the time we started homeschooling in the late 90s, homeschooling was
in full swing. Now there were plenty
of aids, curricula, conventions, and
support groups available to guide and
equip the homeschool community. If
you asked homeschoolers at the time,
“Why are you homeschooling?” they
responded with many of the same
answers, “Because God told us to . . .
we didn’t like what they were being
taught . . . we didn’t like all the influences they were surrounded by,” and
on and on the list went.
Several years after we started our
own journey, we joined the ranks of
homeschool speakers and began to
speak and travel all over the country
“reminding dads and moms about
what matters most.” Because of the
travel time, my wife wasn’t able to be
part of a homeschool co-op, but we
still felt very connected to the move-
ment as a whole.
Now, fast-forward to about a year
ago. My wife began to feel the need for
some local homeschool connections,
not just for herself but for our younger
children as well. She dabbled in a couple of bigger groups before settling on
a small group of moms who meet one
town over.
She and the kids went to the first
meeting, and after they returned,
I could tell the kids had a blast, and
my wife was smiling, so that was a
good sign. It wasn’t until we were in
bed that I said, “So tell me about the
homeschool meeting.”
My wife was in “contemplation
mode” and in womanly detail, she
talked about the ladies and some of
their children, (all of whom she en-
joyed) but then she sighed. It wasn’t
out of frustration or because she felt
overwhelmed . . . but more of an “I
don’t know” sigh.
“The thing is,” she said, “they don’t
homeschool for the same reasons or
convictions that we do. They seem to
homeschool because it’s better than
what they’ve experienced in the school
system, or out of convenience, or lack
of money (for private schools). They
homeschool one kid but not the others. If they think the school is an okay
option next year for whatever reason,
they’ll just switch and do that instead.”
Familyman:
Dad 2 Dad
Todd Wilson
Dad-Conviction
Back in the early days of homeschooling, the charge was led mostly by men.
